ATL: HELENE - Post-Tropical - Discussion

[CrazyC83]

You've had 64 years, but it looks like the is for you, Helene. Won't be seeing you in 2030!

[Category5Kaiju]

Wow, I am genuinely alarmed at how many people have died due to Helene so far (it’s nearing 50, and in the coming days unfortunately likely to increase). This is looking likely to be the US’s deadliest hurricane since Ian.

Helene was a high-end example of how hurricanes can be devastating even while inland.

[gailwarning]

Really unfortunate, they had days of warning too.

The problem is no one alive here has ever even seen that type of storm surge. Any storm surge warning previously were never that high and never ever went close to max high predicted. Even me as a tracker of 25 years am left stunned at the surge we got. Going forward, the experience will create wisdom

I had family that were on vacation at Siesta Key and stayed through the hurricane!! They had to stay on the 2nd floor as the first floor was flooded up to the roof. Both rental cars were in the garage and totalled. Why why WHY!?!? Would they have stayed. I had no idea they were there until it was too late. Had that storm shifted more to te east, they possibly would not be alive. How did the AirBnB owners not tell them to leave? Were they that greedy not to want to miss out on the rental? Or were they that stupid too? I am so perplexed at the lack of logically thinking anymore. I have a photo they texted me mid-day yesterday, thinking it was cool how flooded everything was and that they couldn't leave. It was like a novelty to them... of course until midnight when the fridge and couches were floating, and realized they may not make it, and now they are stranded for who knows how long since they have no rental car, and I doubt Uber is gonna come get them. I cant get myself to even get back to them as I am furious at them for risking their families lives!!!

There seems to be something in humans that believes tragedies are things that happen to somebody else.

[Pipelines182]

 https://x.com/WxNB_/status/1839764502553780720

Keaton Beach getting hit by 3 hurricanes in 13 months, two of which are major hurricanes, is just sheer insanity. This kind of stuff can literally mark the end of entire communities and even cities, as happened to Indianola, TX, which went from a major port to a ghost town with no surviving traces today thanks to two MH landfall in 11 years. (The 1886 Indianola hurricane is still among the top 10 most intense US landfalls by pressure to this day.)

Not to be callous but they were kind of asking for it. Where they built those subdivisions is absolutely absurd and should have never been approved, it was only a matter of time.

[CrazyC83]

Wow, I am genuinely alarmed at how many people have died due to Helene so far (it’s nearing 50, and in the coming days unfortunately likely to increase). This is looking likely to be the US’s deadliest hurricane since Ian.

Helene was a high-end example of how hurricanes can be devastating even while inland.

It's comparable to Hugo 1989 for wind, or Camille 1969 or Hazel 1954 for flooding.

[CrazyC83]

Mind you, Helene took about the least impactful path it could possibly have taken at landfall, with the eyewall neatly threading the needle between Tallahassee and Cedar Key (Based on what I saw on radar last night, even Steinhatchee was at most briefly clipped by the right edge), yet this is still what it did.

I'm thinking the Florida damage total will be less than that in Georgia or either of the Carolinas.

[caneman]

The problem is no one alive here has ever even seen that type of storm surge. Any storm surge warning previously were never that high and never ever went close to max high predicted. Even me as a tracker of 25 years am left stunned at the surge we got. Going forward, the experience will create wisdom

I had family that were on vacation at Siesta Key and stayed through the hurricane!! They had to stay on the 2nd floor as the first floor was flooded up to the roof. Both rental cars were in the garage and totalled. Why why WHY!?!? Would they have stayed. I had no idea they were there until it was too late. Had that storm shifted more to te east, they possibly would not be alive. How did the AirBnB owners not tell them to leave? Were they that greedy not to want to miss out on the rental? Or were they that stupid too? I am so perplexed at the lack of logically thinking anymore. I have a photo they texted me mid-day yesterday, thinking it was cool how flooded everything was and that they couldn't leave. It was like a novelty to them... of course until midnight when the fridge and couches were floating, and realized they may not make it, and now they are stranded for who knows how long since they have no rental car, and I doubt Uber is gonna come get them. I cant get myself to even get back to them as I am furious at them for risking their families lives!!!

There seems to be something in humans that believes tragedies are things that happen to somebody else.

Agree until it happens to them

[canebeard]

Really unfortunate, they had days of warning too.

The problem is no one alive here has ever even seen that type of storm surge. Any storm surge warning previously were never that high and never ever went close to max high predicted. Even me as a tracker of 25 years am left stunned at the surge we got. Going forward, the experience will create wisdom

I had family that were on vacation at Siesta Key and stayed through the hurricane!! They had to stay on the 2nd floor as the first floor was flooded up to the roof. Both rental cars were in the garage and totalled. Why why WHY!?!? Would they have stayed. I had no idea they were there until it was too late. Had that storm shifted more to te east, they possibly would not be alive. How did the AirBnB owners not tell them to leave? Were they that greedy not to want to miss out on the rental? Or were they that stupid too? I am so perplexed at the lack of logically thinking anymore. I have a photo they texted me mid-day yesterday, thinking it was cool how flooded everything was and that they couldn't leave. It was like a novelty to them... of course until midnight when the fridge and couches were floating, and realized they may not make it, and now they are stranded for who knows how long since they have no rental car, and I doubt Uber is gonna come get them. I cant get myself to even get back to them as I am furious at them for risking their families lives!!!

There is a clause in almost every car rental contract that states if you operate that vehicle with negligence, and the car is damaged or totaled, any insurance taken out will be null and void. I mean, taking a $30,000 piece of equipment that you do not own you have rented, into a mandatory evacuation area, warned for tidal surge that will cover the city, is obvious negligence. If they are not sued for the value of those vehicles, they are getting away with their lack of wise-ness. I am aware that some storm chasers have lost rentals in hurricane surges; and they were never held accountable.

[syfr]

Mind you, Helene took about the least impactful path it could possibly have taken at landfall, with the eyewall neatly threading the needle between Tallahassee and Cedar Key (Based on what I saw on radar last night, even Steinhatchee was at most briefly clipped by the right edge), yet this is still what it did.

I'm thinking the Florida damage total will be less than that in Georgia or either of the Carolinas.

Time will tell, but I suspect you are right. The amount of damage in WNC is incredible.

[Nimbus]

Mind you, Helene took about the least impactful path it could possibly have taken at landfall, with the eyewall neatly threading the needle between Tallahassee and Cedar Key (Based on what I saw on radar last night, even Steinhatchee was at most briefly clipped by the right edge), yet this is still what it did.

I'm thinking the Florida damage total will be less than that in Georgia or either of the Carolinas.

There were a lot of low lying developments like Davis Islands built to lure boaters along the west coast of Florida. In Pinellas, Island Estates was still under water when I road my bike down through Clearwater this morning. One of the railroad crossing towers broke at a major roadway. Solid cast aluminum 10 inch diameter tubing 1/2" thick CSX guy said it should have withstood way more than 70 mph winds. The Berea Baptist church on US alt 19 was underwater as well they should have put up a no wake zone sign. Also people talking about Teslas starting fires in Island estates. Hopefully all just rumours but people are scared here. You might just think it was a little drywall and some shingles but could be billions for the Tampa bay area alone.

[AlabamaDave]

 https://x.com/WxNB_/status/1839764502553780720

Keaton Beach getting hit by 3 hurricanes in 13 months, two of which are major hurricanes, is just sheer insanity. This kind of stuff can literally mark the end of entire communities and even cities, as happened to Indianola, TX, which went from a major port to a ghost town with no surviving traces today thanks to two MH landfall in 11 years. (The 1886 Indianola hurricane is still among the top 10 most intense US landfalls by pressure to this day.)

Not to be callous but they were kind of asking for it. Where they built those subdivisions is absolutely absurd and should have never been approved, it was only a matter of time.

That whole stretch of coast is pretty fascinating, with essentially zero beach and communities extending right up to the water with no beach, no slope down to the Gulf. This is a Google Street View from Cedar Key. A street right at the water with no slope down. How are these places not flooded really frequently? https://www.google.com/maps/@29.13433,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

[Pas_Bon]

Keaton Beach getting hit by 3 hurricanes in 13 months, two of which are major hurricanes, is just sheer insanity. This kind of stuff can literally mark the end of entire communities and even cities, as happened to Indianola, TX, which went from a major port to a ghost town with no surviving traces today thanks to two MH landfall in 11 years. (The 1886 Indianola hurricane is still among the top 10 most intense US landfalls by pressure to this day.)

Not to be callous but they were kind of asking for it. Where they built those subdivisions is absolutely absurd and should have never been approved, it was only a matter of time.

That whole stretch of coast is pretty fascinating, with essentially zero beach and communities extending right up to the water with no beach, no slope down to the Gulf. This is a Google Street View from Cedar Key. A street right at the water with no slope down. How are these places not flooded really frequently? https://www.google.com/maps/@29.13433,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

I’d suggest that when most of these communities (Cedar Key and similar) were initially developed, it was during a time when major hurricanes were very infrequent, compared to now.
You had a direct strike maybe once every couple decades. People accepted that infrequency and accepted that risk financially.
Compare that to NINE major hurricane landfalls across the Gulf Coast in the past 7 years, and you have a situation that is mostly untenable. I know for a fact my hometown in Vermilion Parish, LA has lost thousands in population - in large part due to the inability of many people to pay for proper insurance (and inability to even get insurance).
Neighboring Cameron Parish has almost become a ghost Parish for much the same reason.

[SecondBreakfast]

Utter calamity in TN/NC.

https://x.com/vanxan_/status/1839787169042289004?s=46&t=BuzvkpAA-Jzhwl1m0Dnbtg

[caneman]

Wow, I am genuinely alarmed at how many people have died due to Helene so far (it’s nearing 50, and in the coming days unfortunately likely to increase). This is looking likely to be the US’s deadliest hurricane since Ian.

Helene was a high-end example of how hurricanes can be devastating even while inland.

It's comparable to Hugo 1989 for wind, or Camille 1969 or Hazel 1954 for flooding.

Agree. Devastating.
The surge in the Tampa Bay area has never been experienced like that in the Tampa Bay area. Maybe no name 1993 or Donna 1960 so many people had no experience. Experience precludes wisdom in most cases. I can tell you first hand that high end surge forecasts here never or rarely previously had verified

[CrazyC83]

Wow, I am genuinely alarmed at how many people have died due to Helene so far (it’s nearing 50, and in the coming days unfortunately likely to increase). This is looking likely to be the US’s deadliest hurricane since Ian.

Helene was a high-end example of how hurricanes can be devastating even while inland.

It's comparable to Hugo 1989 for wind, or Camille 1969 or Hazel 1954 for flooding.

Agree. Devastating.
The surge in the Tampa Bay area has never been experienced like that in the Tampa Bay area. Maybe no name 1993 or Donna 1960 so many people had no experience. Experience precludes wisdom in most cases. I can tell you first hand that high end surge forecasts here never or rarely previously had verified

And that wasn't even from a direct hit. If Helene made landfall with that intensity around, say, Spring Hill, it would have been downright catastrophic.

[CrazyC83]

I'm going to guess the final cost is going to be at least $50 billion, perhaps close to $100 billion. In WNC alone, it could surpass Florence's total from the east (about $30 billion). Both Georgia and South Carolina will likely go over $10 billion, and the west coast of Florida likely will as well.

[HurricaneRyan]

Just heard from my friend in the Atlanta area. She and her family are ok. Their house is on a hill so no flooding for their property but everywhere else is flooded nearby. So glad to hear from her though as I'm known her, had siblings and her husband since high school and she has a son now.

[storm_in_a_teacup]

Yeah...life on the Gulf Coast is going to be rough from now on.
My parents are planning to move out of Houston soon. They're fed up with the weather disaster or two we've had every year since 2015.
I'm going to miss having a home to go back to in Houston, but...it really feels like the weather there is just going to get worse and worse.

Not to be callous but they were kind of asking for it. Where they built those subdivisions is absolutely absurd and should have never been approved, it was only a matter of time.

That whole stretch of coast is pretty fascinating, with essentially zero beach and communities extending right up to the water with no beach, no slope down to the Gulf. This is a Google Street View from Cedar Key. A street right at the water with no slope down. How are these places not flooded really frequently? https://www.google.com/maps/@29.13433,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

I’d suggest that when most of these communities (Cedar Key and similar) were initially developed, it was during a time when major hurricanes were very infrequent, compared to now.
You had a direct strike maybe once every couple decades. People accepted that infrequency and accepted that risk financially.
Compare that to NINE major hurricane landfalls across the Gulf Coast in the past 7 years, and you have a situation that is mostly untenable. I know for a fact that my hometown in Vermilion Parish, LA has lost thousands in population - in large part due to the inability for people to pay for proper insurance (and inability to even get insurance).
Neighboring Cameron Parish has almost become a ghost Parish for much the same reasons.

[AnnularCane]

That whole stretch of coast is pretty fascinating, with essentially zero beach and communities extending right up to the water with no beach, no slope down to the Gulf. This is a Google Street View from Cedar Key. A street right at the water with no slope down. How are these places not flooded really frequently? https://www.google.com/maps/@29.13433,- ... FQAw%3D%3D

The Beach Front Motel is adorable. I wonder if there's anything left of it now.

[HurricaneBelle]

Wow, I am genuinely alarmed at how many people have died due to Helene so far (it’s nearing 50, and in the coming days unfortunately likely to increase). This is looking likely to be the US’s deadliest hurricane since Ian.

Helene was a high-end example of how hurricanes can be devastating even while inland.

It's comparable to Hugo 1989 for wind, or Camille 1969 or Hazel 1954 for flooding.

Agree. Devastating.
The surge in the Tampa Bay area has never been experienced like that in the Tampa Bay area. Maybe no name 1993 or Donna 1960 so many people had no experience. Experience precludes wisdom in most cases. I can tell you first hand that high end surge forecasts here never or rarely previously had verified

Don't think Donna caused a surge problem in Tampa Bay since it made landfall around Naples/Marco Island.